Sold my 77 GoldWing

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rjdoles
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Sold my 77 GoldWing

#1

Post by rjdoles »

Hello All

I saw my 77 GW leave on a trailer this past week. I had mixed feelings. I was excited about moving to another bike but I spent the past year renewing this $500 barn find GW and I felt like I was like losing an old friend. I say renew because it had a few non-standard parts on it like the king/queen seat and different front brake reservoir. It was in good enough condition that it could be a canditate to restore.

As I was waiting on parts to arrive I removed pieces and cleaned, polished, painted or rebuilt them. I put new battery, tires, cables, coils, plug wires and caps, electronic ignition, belts and hoses on it. I rebuilt the wheel cylinders and the carbs. Well actually I had the carbs off 4 times. They can be frustrating.

Thanks to Cedric (cfairweather) for all the advice that he gave me getting this bike running like it should. He helped me resolve an idle problem where as it warmed up, the idle would gradually rise to 2500 rpm. He suggested that the spark advance was probably coming in early. He suggested that the springs get tired over 40 years and I should cut a coil off each spark advance spring. Problem solved I had a stable idle again.

He sent me some carb needles that solved the lean condition at steady cruise. It transformed this into a bike that was a pleasure to ride.

The problem with it was that it was 650 lbs along with being wide. That was a bad combination for my 72 year old bad knees. I was having trouble supporting it at a standstill and nearly dropped it a couple times.

I ran an ad on Craigslist for $2500 and go the usual crank calls and then a guy wanted to come and see it. He came with a truck and trailer. He walked into the garage and did a once over, switched on the fuel, pulled out the choke, turned on the key, hit the starter and let it run for a minute. It had a smooth idle and he verified that it had good throttle response and didn't smoke. He switched it back off. He said that the first big bike that he had was a 77 Goldwing and when he saw the pictures in my ad he had to have it.

My new ride is 35 years newer. It is a 2012 Honda NC700X. It is an adventure bike (on or off road). It is a 450 lb, inline twin cylinder, fuel injected, water cooled, 6 speed bike. The engine is designed for low speed operation with a 7,000 rpm redline. It is happy in the 3,000 - 4,000 rpm range.

The previous owner had added a skid plate, engine guards, radiator guard and hand guards but the bike still had Continental street tires on it. He started to tell me about the 80/20 or 50/50 tires that I could get depending on how much off road I planned to do. I told him that I was 72 and although I had several dirt bikes and enjoyed them, my off road riding was all in the rear view mirror now. Since there wasn't a scratch on this bike, I suspect that he never took it off road even after buying all those accessories.

The weather is beginning to cooperate and I took it on a 200 mile road trip yesterday. I think that we are going to get along just fine. I am not crazy about a digital dash but I can learn to live with it. I was surprised that it got 69 mpg at mostly 60 mph cruising on county roads.

I will still be checking in on this site from time to time as there are a lot of good stories and good people here. Who know, I may find another GW project bike.

Thanks again Cedric. Talk to you all soon.
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NC700X right.jpg
NC700X right.jpg (207.26 KiB) Viewed 157 times
Started with an Allstate stooter made by Cushman and then a series of Honda motorcycles. 305 SuperHawk, CB750, VT600DC, VT750CD and then 4 years ago I left motorcycles for scooters with an Elite 125, Reflex 250 and Silverwing 600. Most recent is a barn find 77 GL1000 that I plan to resurect.
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Whiskerfish
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Re: Sold my 77 GoldWing

#2

Post by Whiskerfish »

Well it is nice that you had fun with the 77. I have plenty of leg strength but the height on the 1000's is the issue for me. I have a 28 inch inseam and that with a 32 inch seat height is a mismatch.
Your new ride looks like fun. 69 mpg is amazing!!! Enjoy
"Agreement is not a requirement for Respect" CDR Michael Smith USN (Ret) 2017
"The book is wrong, this whole Conclusion is Fallacious" River Tam
2008 GL1800 IIIA "TH3DOG"
1975/6/7/8/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

Psst. oh and by the way CHANGE YOUR BELTS!!!!
Gowing
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Re: Sold my 77 GoldWing

#3

Post by Gowing »

Wonderful to have fuel injection and much less weight. Nice looking 700.
Dave

1975 GL 1000
1980 XS650
1981 ct110
1972 F7 KAW 175
2000 moby blaze 40cc
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